


Night Terrors

by rolie_polie



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Comfort, M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Short n sweet, cute fluffs, sort of violent i guess?, there's a vague description of bloody scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 21:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3426665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolie_polie/pseuds/rolie_polie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They just wouldn't stop. Every night, for weeks, Armin was bombarded by the same horrific dreams. For one night, just one night, he wishes he could sleep without being disturbed by his horrors, and Eren is determined to make that possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Terrors

It wasn't like Armin to be so distant and shy. Maybe towards strangers, but towards his best friends? No way. There was definitely something that was bothering him; otherwise talking to Eren wouldn't be this hard. Lying on the grass silently, Armin stared at the bright blue, cloudless sky. He was silent, and his expression wasn't betraying any sort of emotion. Mikasa had gone off to get the trio lunch, leaving Eren and Armin to lay by themselves in the meadow. It was mid summer, the blazing heat leaving a thin layer of sweat on Eren's forehead, but Armin seemed unbothered by the weather. Eren looked over as the blond closed his eyes slowly, the gentle breeze pushing a few strands of the gold locks into his face.

"Hey Armin," Eren rolled onto his stomach and reached over, putting a hand on Armin's shoulder gently, "is something on your mind?"

The boy jumped a bit and sat up, looking at his surprised friend.

"Ah... No, sorry. I'm just tired..." He nearly whispered, as if any louder would be a strain.

"Are you sick?" Eren sat up too, reaching to feel the smaller boy's forehead, but there were no signs of a fever.

"No- no I'm not sick..." Armin smiled weakly, "don't worry about it Eren. I'm sure I'll feel better later."

"In that case, you should come stay the night at my place tonight," the brunette suggested.

Armin never turned down his offers. He would know for sure something was wrong if he did now. However, Armin knew him well. Whether he was okay or not, the blond nodded.

"Okay."

"Great!" Eren threw an arm around his friend, "it'll be fun!"

Mikasa returned a few minutes later, a bag filled with greasy fast food and a tray with three sodas in hand. Armin and Eren stood up quickly and helped her set everything out, and while Eren hungrily bit into his burger, ketchup spurting out the sides, Armin ate slowly and in little nibbles, still distracted. If he noticed the constant worried glances his friends were shooting his way, he didn't show it.

"Armin’s going to stay the night with us." Eren said, tossing a french fry in the air and attempting to catch it with his mouth. (He failed).

"That's fine by me," Mikasa sipped her drink, "although I won't be able to join you. Sasha demanded that I spend the night with her, Christa, Ymir, Annie and Mina."

"Sucks for you." Eren laughed, receiving a death glare that shut him up.

"They're not bad girls, Eren. Annie and Ymir are slightly- intolerable, but the rest are actually nice to have around. And a good break from you boys." She finished in a mutter.

"Whatever you say, Mik," Eren snorted, "but you're totally missing out."

"Sure." Mikasa rolled her eyes and looked over at Armin, "you're awfully quiet. Everything alright?"

"Hmm? Oh! Yeah. Yeah I'm all right. Sorry."

The look Mikasa gave him was doubtful, and then she turned to Eren and glared at him. Her expression screamed, "talk to him about this later or else".

Eventually, they all finished their food, and Eren's constant complaints about the heat became far too irritating. So they packed up and began the walk back to the Jaeger residence, Eren not once taking his eyes off of Armin. (What a creep.)

 

It was late. About 1 AM, possibly later. Armin didn't bother to check the clock. He was lying on a mattress beside Eren's bed, his eyes half closed and tears stinging his blue eyes. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept in two days, and he knew soon he'd _have_ to sleep, but he dreaded that moment. Every time he shut his eyes, the same awful images that caused him to wake up in a sweating, sobbing, and writhing mess in the night came back to him. They weren't regular nightmares, though. They were more intense and vivid. The constantly recurring dreams that had ten-year-olds waking up screaming at three in the morning, and eight-year-olds wetting the bed to accompany the screaming and sobbing. The worst part was, Armin couldn't always remember his night terrors, just that they were awful, and he'd lie trembling in bed for hours after having one. With a shuddering sigh, he sat up and rubbed his face, sniffling and resting his head on his knees.

"I just want to sleep," Armin muttered to himself sadly.

He then looked over at Eren, his best friend. His bed, his arms... They looked so warm and inviting. He thought how easy it would be to slip in beside the boy and fall asleep next to him. Perhaps Armin was wrong, but the idea of having someone beside him at night to reassure him he was safe made the idea of his night terrors a little less scary. Another sniffle, and a tear slid down his cheek. The exhaustion was really getting to him. He was unfocused and much more anxious, afraid of almost everything half the time. And oh, what he wouldn't give for just one restful night of sleep. Armin let himself fall back onto the mattress again, covering his face and sighing sadly. Then he froze when he heard Eren stir.

"Mm. Armin?" He murmured, his voice thick with sleep, "you okay?"

"Fine." Armin mumbled hastily, trying to appear as though he'd been sleeping.

But it was futile. Eren could always see past his tricks.

"Oi, Armin..." He sat up, turning to face the boy, "you haven't slept? Why not?"

"Not tired," Armin whispered.

"Earlier you said you _were_." Eren pointed out.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Um..."

They fell silent then, and Armin pulled his hands away from his flushed face, sitting up slowly. Then a wave of dizziness passed over him and he staggered.

"Armin." Eren slid off the bed and onto the floor in front of his friend. Up close he could see the prominent dark circles under his eyes, the tired and sad look on his face and how his whole body seemed to slump with his fatigue. "You look... Real bad."

"Thanks." Armin muttered sarcastically "that's just what I need to hear right now."

"Wooah woah," Eren backtracked, "I mean you look really fucking tired. And I want to know what's going on. It never takes that little to get you to snap at me."

He rested his hands on Armin's shoulders, massaging them gently through the material of his shirt as he looked at his quiet friend, who blinked up at him slowly, as if struggling to process anything he said.

"I haven't slept- in a few days," he whispered, beginning slowly to tremble again, "I can't."

"Why not?" Eren whispered.

"I-I started to- get nightmares a while back and now I'm afraid to s-sleep." Armin clenched his fists in his lap, looking down.

"Oh... Armin that's- you really need sleep you know..." Eren mumbled.

"I know!" Armin exclaimed quietly, tears shining in his eyes, "but- I'm really, _really_ scared. Y-you have no idea how- how terrifying these dreams are."

Eren lifted a hand to gently run his fingers through Armin's hair, looking at him sadly.

"What... What usually happens in the dreams?" He whispered, unsure of whether that was a good question to ask or not.

"I-I can hardly remember sometimes," Armin sniffed, "but usually i-it's just... Death. Everywhere. And there's so much of it, and I'm the only one left to pick through all the bodies and-" he took a shuddering breath and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands, "y-you and Mikasa are always dead. There's just- everyone's dead bodies. Jean, Marco, Christa, Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt, Ymir, Connie, Sasha. There's just- so much blood. And screaming. A-and that's just one of them. I can't remember them when I wake up most of the time- but, Eren I can't sleep anymore." Armin blinked, and tears started to roll down his cheeks.

"Hey," Eren murmured, leaning closer to his friend so he could wrap an arm around him, "it'll be okay, I promise."

"I'm _tired_." Armin complained, not having the energy to care if he was being childish or not.

"I know you are..." Eren sighed, "I know."

The smaller boy shook his head, rapidly blinking and wiping his eyes. His previous calm was short lived, and he began to breathe raggedly, obviously fighting to stay wide awake.

"Armin," Eren grabbed his hands and frowned, "calm down... You really need to sleep."

"I don't want to." Armin sniffed, dropping his forehead onto his knees.

"Why not? You're exhausted." The brunette whispered.

"Because it doesn't matter how tired I am. I always get the nightmares!"

Following that, Eren was unsure of what to say. He'd never seen Armin so affected by something. Of course there was the bullying and harassment he'd dealt with in previous years, which was about equal to how he was reacting now, but Eren didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing Armin fall apart. The silence continued for what felt like ages, during which Armin continue to blink, shake his head, and pinch himself, until Eren broke the silence.

"Come on," he stood up, pulling the blond up beside him. He held his hand tightly as he lead him out of the room and down the hallway.

"What- where are we going?" Armin asked hoarsely, frowning. His legs were shaking as they walked, and the blond could feel himself growing a little light headed with the speed at which they were moving.

"To the kitchen."

Upon entering the room, Eren reached for a cupboard and pulled open the wooden door. The shelves were filled with multiple bottles of pills and medicines, as well as some other miscellanea. Sleeping pills were what Eren was searching for. When he found them, he dumped two of the little caplets into his hand and held them out to Armin.

"What are those?" He whispered.

"Melatonin. They'll help you sleep."

"Eren, I told you-"

"Please, Armin." Eren pleaded, his eyes wide with worry. It struck the blond with guilt, knowing his reaction to the nightmares was upsetting his friend, "I swear, if you get another nightmare I will be right there with you until it passes, okay?"

         His hesitation was clear, but Armin reached out a shaking hand and accepted the tablets, slipping them under his tongue as Eren instructed. They made their way back to the brunet's bedroom then, Armin making a face as the sleeping pills dissolved, and they both climbed back into their separate beds quietly. It didn't take long for the fear to overtake Armin again, though, and despite the sleeping pills adding to his exhaustion and forcing him to have to just about hold his eyes open, he really could not stand to sleep. Armin knew this was dangerous, though. Were he to go much longer without sleep, he knew his brain would shut down and the exhaustion would kill him. In the face of this possibility, odd how a few nightmares could bring about such an idea, tears of exhaustion began lazily rolling down the little blonde’s cheeks. He looked at Eren's form, and in one last effort, spoke shakily.

"E-Eren?"

It took a moment, but the brunet grunted in reply after a second.

"D-Do you think t-that I could, um..." Armin swallowed. It looked so comfy in his friend's bed, and god, he really needed sleep. "Could I maybe- u-uh..."

A groan that sounded like something bordering on a chuckle sounded, and Eren shifted in his bed, until a fair space was left in front of him. With that, he lifted his blankets and patted the spot gently. Armin felt like a little kid as he crawled out of his bed and nestled in beside his best friend. It was much warmer in his bed, and the blond felt like he was sinking into the mattress, and he let out a small sigh.

"Go to sleep, Armin." Eren whispered, a hand touching said boy's cheek as he looked at him. "You really, really need it. I promise I'll be right here if you have a bad dream."

Armin didn't even have the energy to reply at this point. All he could do was childishly force himself closer to Eren, his face pressed to his chest and their legs tangled together. Eren didn't really mind, and he could only smile fondly down at his friend as he pulled the blankets around them like a cocoon, leaving room only for their noses to peek out from underneath. The brunet wrapped an arm securely around Armin, cradling him close and feeling a sigh of relief bubble out as the boy's breath grew steady and slow with sleep. After two days of utter exhaustion, Armin fell into a long, deep slumber.

His sleep lasted well into the following day, but Eren didn’t mind. As Armin slept straight past one in the afternoon, the brunet simply sat close by, playing video games quietly and waiting for his friend to wake up of his own accord. When the blond finally did, they decided to cook together. The meal they came out with was an odd assortment of frozen pizza, chicken soup, scrambled eggs, peanut butter cookies, and Coca-Cola, and they laughed and joked as they ate. Armin didn’t know if his nightmares would return later, but for now, he didn’t care much. He was just glad to be able to enjoy the day with Eren, and to be able to forget about the horrific scenes that clouded his mind at night for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh this is my first fic that I'm posting here, so it's not meant to be anything special, I'm just kind of testing how everything works, I guess? But I hope you liked it!


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